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Carers Allowance & PIP/DLA

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7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #162965 by Jonpaul
Carers Allowance & PIP/DLA was created by Jonpaul
Hi Everyone,

This is my first posting; I'm sure that there will be many more over the next few weeks!

My son who is 22 has autism and had DLA (high care low mobility) indefinitely. The PIP decision was that it will end on August the 2nd and awarded him in total just 2 points!

The problem, how I see it, is that the assessor made several assumptions, too many to mention in this post, for example we stated that he cannot plan and follow journeys. She just decided that he could just by looking at him! There were also issues with his mobility, in fact throughout the entire assessment he didn't get out of bed, however she thought that there were no mobility issues at all.

I could go on, I believe that the decision of the assessment had already been made before she came to see him.

How do we convey to them that assumptions were made throughout the assessment as his disability is intangible or "hidden" ? I fully understand that assessors simply do not have knowledge of every disability, but it's obvious that she did not understand the condition of autism, its implications and effect upon everyday living, not to mention the impact it has upon the family.

From high care low mobility DLA to virtually nothing (2 points) seems totally unfair, leaving us over £100 a week worse off.

What do we do next?

[removed]
Last edit: 7 years 9 months ago by Gordon.

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7 years 9 months ago #163020 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Carers Allowance & PIP/DLA
J

Welcome to the forum.

In case you are not aware, your real name appears to be showing in the forum, if you want to change this then follow the instructions in the following FAQ

My full name is showing, how can I stop it?



I've moved your post to it's own topic, we ask members not to post in others people's topics, it's not fair on the original poster and it can lead to the wrong advice being give or taken.

The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip

You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.

Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;

"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"

than their opinions

"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.

When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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7 years 9 months ago #163070 by Jonpaul
Replied by Jonpaul on topic Carers Allowance & PIP/DLA
Many thanks for your reply; we have had the letter with just the decision maker's reasoning. So there is an assessment report written which we do have sight of (yet)

We will be back in touch with them tomorrow.

Kind regards,

Jon

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7 years 9 months ago #163115 by Jonpaul
Replied by Jonpaul on topic Carers Allowance & PIP/DLA
In the event that the conversion from DLA to PIP is unsuccessful the carer loses Carers Allowance (CA); the stark reality is that the carer still continues to care for the individual but loses the allowance.

It has been suggested that my wife (who is losing CA) goes onto Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) which opens up a whole new series of problems (sanctions, unnecessary course attendance etc.)

How can we convey to the officers at the Benefit Centre that the caring remains the same but according to them the individual is no longer "disabled" ? The thought of going down the JSA route is daunting and potentially troublesome adding even more stress and anxiety to what already is an extremely difficult situation to say the least.

I appreciate any thoughts on this....................

JP

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7 years 9 months ago #163118 by Jonpaul
Replied by Jonpaul on topic Carers Allowance & PIP/DLA
When we receive a copy of the assessment report, will it show who they have consulted? for example our GP, College, Social Worker etc.

We believe that no other professional had been consulted but we cannot confirm that at the moment.

Again, I welcome the forum's views on this.

Thanks,

JP

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7 years 9 months ago - 7 years 9 months ago #163133 by slugsta
Replied by slugsta on topic Carers Allowance & PIP/DLA
Hi JonPaul,

I have merged your query with the previous topic relating to the DLA/PIP claim as it is a related issue. It helps us enormously if everything dealing with the same subject is kept in one place.

It's a difficult situation - JSA is awarded on the basis that the claimant is actively seeking work. It is not a generic employment replacement benefit.

The claimant can have up to 13 weeks of certified sickness in any 12 months of claim and will then be excused any work-seeking activities. This might be an option in the short term, we would expect most MR's to have been completed in this time. However, it is unusual for an MR to find in the claimant's favour and it is highly unlikely that this time would be enough for an appeal to be heard.

I expect that other mods and members will have their own, comments to add.

If you have further questions or comments, please reply to this message and we will do our best to help. You will find it easily if you bookmark/favourite it on your web browser now :)

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Last edit: 7 years 9 months ago by slugsta.
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